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Daily Digest

New Breed Logistics Expands in Memphis

New Breed Logistics executives announced Wednesday, Jan. 16, they are expanding their Memphis operations in a move that will create nearly 500 warehouse and distribution jobs.

New Breed, based in High Point, N.C., is a third-party logistics provider. The privately held company is hired by companies to help them design and operate their supply chains. New Breed also manages warehouse space at more than 75 distribution centers that employ more than 7,500 people around the world.

The $23 million expansion investment will enlarge New Breed’s Memphis facility at 4895 Citation Drive in the Oakhaven-Parkway Village distribution center district and New Breed plans to lease additional space at 4585 Quality Drive in the same area.

The expansion by the privately held company was announced through the office of Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Haslam’s Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty.

Hours after the announcement Wednesday, the board of the local Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE) was to vote on accepting the state economic development grant that was the government incentive for the expansion.

The announcement follows an increase in activity by third-party logistics companies late last year as noted by Memphis-area industrial brokers. The new leases have been particularly noticeable in medical/pharma-related logistics.

Some of that activity has been south of the state line because of new Mississippi tax breaks aimed at attracting health care-related businesses.

New Breed’s clients include not only those kind of companies but such brand names as Boeing, Bombardier, Honeywell, Navistar and Nokia.

FedEx Names Henry Maier to Run Ground Unit

FedEx Corp. has named Henry J. Maier to run its FedEx Ground unit, succeeding David F. Rebholz, who is retiring in May.

Maier will be president and CEO of the unit, which includes FedEx Ground, FedEx Home Delivery and FedEx SmartPost, the company announced after the markets closed Monday.

Maier has been at FedEx for 25 years, including his current job as executive vice president at FedEx Ground, where he was responsible for strategic planning, corporate communications, and contractor relations.

Ground shipments are an increasingly important part of FedEx's business. The larger United Parcel Service Inc. has traditionally dominated that area, although both companies run air and ground operations.

"Henry has vast experience going back to the early days of FedEx Ground and has played a leading role in shaping the incredible long-term success of the company," said Frederick W. Smith, chairman, president and CEO of FedEx Corp.

Rebholz is retiring on May 31 after a 37-year career at FedEx, the company said.

Pinnacle Reorganization OK’d in Bankruptcy Court

The approval of the plan for the Memphis-based regional carrier came Wednesday, Jan. 16, the day after union pilots ratified a new contract agreement with Pinnacle.

Pinnacle president and CEO John Spanjers called the set of agreements with creditors and employees groups a “significant milestone” in Pinnacle’s move to emerge from the bankruptcy company leaders filed in April 2012.

With court approval, Pinnacle now has until Feb. 15 to file a plan acceptable to Delta Air Lines and the creditors committee.

The plan gives Delta or a Delta affiliate the ability to acquire the equity in Pinnacle after it emerges from bankruptcy.

Delta, through Delta Connection, will provide an additional 40 CRJ-900 aircraft with a capacity for 76 passengers to Pinnacle starting in the fall of 2013 under the plan. Those additions to Pinnacle will continue through the end of 2014.

Meanwhile, Pinnacle will phase out its smaller 50-seat CRJ-200 aircraft over the next two to three years.

Tax Sale Draws 65 Bidders, Collects $212,000 in Overdue Taxes

The results are in for the most recent Shelby County Tax Sale held Jan. 3-4 that drew 65 registered bidders.

The sale, the second of the fiscal year, featured more than 400 properties. A total of 26 properties were sold to individuals for $212,721.69 and another 403 were purchased by the county, said Wendie Blanton with the Shelby County Trustee’s Tax Sale Department.

Properties and parcels purchased by the county will be marketed through the Shelby County Land Bank once the required one-year redemption period has expired, Shelby County Trustee David Lenoir said. The next Shelby County tax sale is April 9-10.

For information about properties available through the tax sale, call 432-4829, or visit www.shelbycountytrustee.com and click the “Tax Sale” link.

White to Chair House Education Subcommittee

Republican state Rep. Mark White of Memphis has been named chairman of the House Education Subcommittee by House Speaker Beth Harwell.

With the appointment, White also has a seat on the House Education full committee during a legislative session in which education reform initiatives are expected to be a major part of the work of the legislature.

White will also serve on the House Consumer and Human Resources Committee, which reviews legislation on consumer protection laws and labor law regulations as well as human resource issues.

Southaven Mayor Won't Run for Re-Election

Davis has served as mayor of the Northwest Mississippi city for 16 years.

Davis says in a statement released Thursday, Jan. 17, that he reached the decision after talking with his partner and family.

The 46-year-old Davis, who admitted he was gay more than a year ago, cited a long list of accomplishments during his tenure in the release. He did not mention his legal problems as a factor.

State Auditor Stacey Pickering has ordered Davis to repay more than $170,000 including penalties and interest that Pickering said was misspent from city funds.

Davis was indicted in December on state charges of making false statements related to a car purchase, city gas and a check from a city account.

Commercial Appeal Paywall Temporarily Down

For the moment, The Commercial Appeal’s paywall is down.

Ordinarily, non-subscribers would be hit with a screen after viewing 10 articles during the span of a month that asks them to pay for digital access to view additional stories. Non-subscribers also only had very limited access to the newspaper’s content on mobile devices like phones and tablets.

For the moment, neither of those limitations is present. Nonsubscribers are able to view more than the paywall’s limit of 10 stories during a month, and the newspaper’s stories also appear to be fully viewable on mobile devices without a digital subscription.

“We have had a team of folks here upgrading and adding new systems that will greatly enhance our consumer log-in/access experience for all digital platforms i.e. smart phone, tablet and PC,” he told The Daily News in an email.

“While we are undergoing that process I decided to enable all consumers to experience what (our) content has to offer, for a brief period. I will be commenting further, in just a couple of weeks, as to how we will move forward.”

Wyatt Tarrant Law Firm Elects New Partners

Brown concentrates his practice in general and commercial civil litigation and white collar criminal defense.

Faughnan concentrates her practice in all areas of commercial litigation in federal and state court. Reifler concentrates his practice in representing publicly owned and privately held commercial real estate developers in the acquisition, development, leasing and management of commercial properties.

He also provides general litigation support and service to the firm’s clients. And Wilson concentrates her practice in commercial litigation.

Family and Divorce Firm Opens East Memphis Office

The family and divorce law firm of Divorce Inc. has opened a new office in East Memphis.

One month after opening its third office in Clarksville, Tenn., the Jackson, Tenn.-based firm has relocated its Collierville office to the Forum I building at 6750 Poplar Ave.

Divorce Inc. is a boutique family law firm, focusing on but not limited to the areas of divorce, child custody, child support, and other family law matters.

Memphis Regional Design Center Has New Direction

The Memphis Regional Design Center board of directors has decided on a new organizational path in order to build additional program capacity to serve and respond to evolving community needs.

Jeff Sanford, of Jeff Sanford Consulting and former president of the Center City Commission, has been named as the new interim leader to oversee the structural and administrative changes needed to position the center to: improve responsiveness to distinctive community needs; stabilize organizational resources; cultivate long-lasting and sustainable partnerships; and increase positive economic and social impact through quality design projects and programs.

Sanford’s interim leadership comes after founding director Chooch Pickard, who joined the organization in 2009, left the nonprofit this week.

Founded in 2007, the center’s mission is to increase vitality and economic stability of the Memphis region by promoting excellence in urban design and planning.

Paragon National Bank Expands Board of Directors

The new members are Mary McDaniel, Lauren Boggs McHugh and Pete Stark. They’ll each serve a three-year term and work closely with the bank’s 10 other board members.

The board expansion comes on the heels of a big 2012 for Paragon, during which the bank saw a successful capital campaign and completed its eighth straight quarter of profitability.

McDaniel is a veteran of FedEx Express, which she retired from in 2010 as vice president-air operations material and corporate sourcing.

Since 2007, McHugh has served as president of the Huey’s restaurant chain. And since July, Stark has served as chief financial officer for Physicians Pharmacy Alliance.

Co-Chairs Named For NAACP Freedom Fund Gala

Tim Brown, president of the Kroger Delta Division and Shannon A. Brown, senior vice president of human resources and diversity officer for FedEx Express, are the co-chairmen of the 37th annual Memphis NAACP Freedom Fund Gala.

Brown will be the corporate fundraising co-chairman and Brown will be the community co-chairman.

The event is the largest fundraiser of the year for the civil rights organization. This year it will be held March 20 at the Memphis Cook Convention Center.

The gala has a tradition of having biracial chairmen and chairwomen who are business leaders.

The Memphis branch of the NAACP began holding the galas in 1977, the year that Memphis attorney and judge and FCC commissioner Benjamin L. Hooks became national executive director of the nation’s oldest civil rights organization.

US Consumer Prices Unchanged in December

Lower gas costs offset more expensive food and higher rents to keep a measure of U.S. consumer prices flat last month.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that food prices increased 0.2 percent in December from November. Rents and airline fares also rose. Gasoline prices fell a seasonally adjusted 2.3 percent.

The flat reading of the December consumer price index caps a year when inflation slowed. Consumer prices rose only 1.7 percent in 2012, down from 3 percent in 2011.

Food prices increased 1.8 percent last year, down from 4.7 percent in 2011. Gas prices rose just 1.7 percent last year. That followed annual gains of nearly 10 percent in 2011 and roughly 14 percent in 2010.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices ticked up just 0.1 percent in December compared with November.

Prices for household furniture, clothing and used cars declined in December from November.

Mild inflation leaves consumers with more money to spend, which is good for the economy.

Lower inflation also makes it easier for the Fed to continue with its efforts to accelerate the economy. If the Fed were worried that prices are rising too fast, it might have to raise interest rates.

Shelby County Commission Finalizes Trustee Contract

Shelby County Commissioners approved at their Monday, Jan. 14, meeting the agreement between the Shelby County Trustee’s office and the city of Memphis for Trustee David Lenoir to collect city property taxes for the city.

The agreement means the county general fund will see an increase of $625,000 in revenue.

Late last year, the commission also approved an agreement in which Lenoir’s office will collect the newly enacted property tax in Lakeland.

The commission in other action also approved an $850,000 contract with Southeast Mental Health Center to provide detoxification and mental health services for suspects who are arrested.

The program amounts to determining if a prisoner who is behaving erratically has a mental health issue or is intoxicated and from that determination whether there is a long-term problem.

And the commission approved a $1.4 million contract with Standard Construction Co. for a set of asphalt paving and resurfacing projects in Shelby County. The funding comes from Shelby County gas tax funds.

So does another $30,000 approved by the commission for the acquisition and closing costs of right-of-way land for the Raleigh-Millington Road bridge over the Loosahatchie River in North Shelby County.

Crye-Leike Collects $22,000 With United Way Campaign

The donation will be made to local charities in the nine states Crye-Leike serves.

The nation’s fifth-largest real estate company reached $22,300 by setting up a United Way campaign website to allow agents and employees to donate online. Crye-Leike also encouraged its associates to visit United Way’s website and type in their ZIP code to see all of the ways the organization supports their local community.

To jumpstart its annual United Way campaign, Crye-Leike agents and employees organized a pumpkin decorating contest this past fall, collecting $400.

Jonathan Lindsey Joins Martin Tate Law Firm

Jonathan Lindsey has joined the law firm of Martin, Tate, Morrow & Marston PC.

Lindsey joined the firm as an associate, and he’ll focus his practice in the area of litigation. He’s a 2012 graduate of the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, where he graduated first in his class of 134 law students.

Lindsey was managing editor of the University of Memphis Law Review, and his honors include the Herbert Herff Presidential Law Scholarship and the Dean’s Award for Excellence.

Christian Brothers Offers New Business Degree

Christian Brothers University is offering a new Master of International Business degree beginning in January 2014.

The degree is designed to prepare graduates for global careers in domestic or foreign business entities and to conduct business on an international basis. Graduates will gain an understanding that the future of American business is dependent on the global markets as well as the ability of American businesses to compete with foreign businesses in those global markets.

The MIB is a dual degree program in which graduates will earn a Master of International Business from CBU as well as a Master of International Business from Ramon Llull University in Barcelona, Spain, which is a member of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International. The 12-month program is offered in executive format and geared toward professionals with prior master’s education who want to give their knowledge a more global perspective.

Downtown Memphis Among ‘Top ArtPlaces’ in Country

Downtown Memphis has been identified as the Memphis metropolitan area’s top ArtPlace, which recognizes neighborhoods where the arts are central to creating the kinds of places where people want to be.

These communities have been successful at combining art, artists and venues for creativity and expression with independent businesses, retail shops and restaurants, and a walkable lifestyle to make vibrant neighborhoods. ArtPlace director Carol Coletta said in a statement that the impact the arts have had on the “vibrancy and economy of Downtown Memphis is unmistakable.”

ArtPlace is an initiative of national and regional foundations, various federal agencies, and major banks to accelerate creative placemaking across the U.S. ArtPlace’s determination of the Top ArtPlaces in the country was based on a set of six indicators identified by Impresa Inc., a Portland-based consulting firm specializing in the study of metropolitan economies.

Four indicators measure ingredients of vibrancy: the number of retail and service businesses; the percentage of independent businesses; the neighborhood’s Walk Score; and the percentage of workers in creative occupations living in the neighborhood. The number of arts-related nonprofits and businesses were also used.

ArtPlace is currently developing measures specific to smaller metropolitan areas and will release America’s Top Small Town ArtPlaces later this year.

Boyle Investment Co. Promotes Seven Executives

Paul Boyle has been promoted to president, replacing Henry Morgan, who served as Boyle’s president from 1985 to 2012, and will now serve as co-chairman with Bayard Boyle Jr. This marks a major change for Boyle, as Paul Boyle represents the third generation of the family taking over as president, where he will oversee all company operations.

Mark Halperin has been promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer. Halperin will continue to lead the Boyle Memphis office leasing, development and sales team, and as chief operating officer, will help direct company operations, including strategy and personnel.

Bayard Morgan, Henry Morgan Jr. and Cary Whitehead have been promoted to executive vice president. Bayard Morgan and Henry Morgan will continue to serve on Boyle’s executive committee and board of directors, work directly with senior department managers and approve strategic direction and major decisions of the company. Whitehead has both development and financial responsibilities heading Boyle’s retail development for the Memphis office and also mortgage finance.

Phil Fawcett has been promoted to chief manager of the Nashville office and will be responsible for overseeing all Nashville-based developments and personnel policies.

Memphis Habitat Promotes Super Bowl Fundraisers

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis invites Memphians to participate in the ninth annual MX Sales Coach “Home Team Huddle” fundraising event Feb. 3 during the Super Bowl. Participants are asked to host a “Super Sunday” party and collect donations for Memphis Habitat during halftime. All proceeds go directly to the local affiliate and help further its mission of eliminating substandard housing in the Memphis community.

Memphis Habitat’s 2013 Home Team Huddle goal is to raise $15,000. All guests and hosts are eligible to win the grand prize getaway – two tickets to an NFL game of their choice from MX Sales Coach, two Delta SkyMiles vouchers and a two-night stay at a Hilton hotel.